Sell Your Rocklin Home: How To Get The Highest Price
In This Market, You’ve Got To Be Careful
I have buyers who have their home under contract in Rocklin contingent upon the purchase of a replacement home. They are looking in Lincoln as it’s close to his parents and you can get a good home for the money there barring other considerations.
They found a home on Maloney in Foskett Ranch but the sellers had priced it well above the comparable sales for the area and condition of the home.
Usually buyers can look past some condition issues but they won’t pay more for a home than what comparable homes like it have sold for unless the condition is immaculate. They just won’t. Buyers are much more cautious now than they were before the downturn in the real estate market and economy.
We sent the seller an offer, they sent us a counter and we countered back. Their counter was still at least $35,000 above the comparable sales. Then their agent comes back with the following remark telling me all I needed to know about the seller’s mindset. She said:
“My client said he had already gave you a counter. He needs $465,000.”
Yes they did.
Now the home is off the market because it didn’t sell. These sellers were in escrow on another home somewhere but now they sit there with two homes or they had to let go of the home they really wanted and are stuck in a home they don’t want. Either way, not good.
There is no more uncomfortable a feeling than this for an agent or a seller.
Let’s Keep Looking
Mind you we weren’t that far off from what the Maloney seller wanted; not that far off at all. However, the market does not respond to what a seller needs for their home. That’s not how it works as is evident by the result.
The market responds to value. If an item for sale is seen as a value at the price it’s being marketed for then it will sell and sell quickly. Priced correctly, it will draw multiple buyers. Right now, that’s not the case in Lincoln.
So we went back to the drawing board, so to speak. We picked out 5 more homes in the same area of Lincoln. They were all over priced for the comparable sales. Today, one more dropped off the list as “temporarily off the market” and none of them have sold.
Coincidence? Nope and we’re still looking. This buyer is HIGHLY qualified but won’t be taken for a ride by sellers “testing” the market. The rest of the market is responding accordingly.
How To Sell Your Rocklin Home Quickly
There is one fundamental of selling real estate that most people who don’t work in the industry have difficulty understanding. That is this:
A home will always sell for market value for it’s location and amenities in any open market IF priced correctly to start. Always.
If a home isn’t priced correctly to begin with, a seller is in a losing battle from the start. The seller will be fighting the market perception because it didn’t sell quickly. The first thought of
most buyers is not simply that it’s overpriced it is that
Something is Wrong!
Whether it’s true or not that’s the market perception.
Professionals always think differently than amateurs. It was true when I was a golf professional and it’s true now that I’ve been a real estate professional in this area for the last 12 years. We know that it’s just overpriced for the location and amenities. It’s just that simple. But buyers don’t see it that way.
When the market thinks something is wrong, they do one of two things: 1) avoid the house entirely or 2) look for a deal. When a home sits on the market for an extended period (read: longer than 2 or 3 weeks) sellers should start to panic, if they’re smart, and start thinking about reducing the price. Generally the price reductions aren’t dramatic enough to make an immediate impact but if they are, there will be offers.
It’s a vicious cycle that ends up with the seller losing money. When the “something is wrong” perception prevails, the house will sell for less that market value most every time.
Why go through this at all?
The Best Advice
First and foremost, when a seller prices a home they shouldn’t be afraid to price it below the comparable sales in any market condition. Pricing and exposure are the strongest forms of marketing in real estate. Everything else is secondary.
Seller’s should not try to predict how high the market has risen between October and January then price it there. Just go with the comparable sales and price it accordingly.
The worst that can happen if a seller prices their home too low is that the home will be seen as a value to the market and you’ll get competing offers. When buyers compete, sellers win.
Last year when the market was blazing hot, I listed a home at $399,000 in Roseville. There was a house around the corner that had sold in 4 days at that price without a pool. My seller’s had a pool.
It was like a frenzy. The house was seen by the market to be a value. It sold in 7 days at $450,000! According to the appraiser, that was $50,000 above market value. Yes, it closed at that price.
This is an extreme example but none the less that’s what occurred. Because the home was seen as a value it sold quickly for top dollar. If we had started at $450,000 it would not have sold at that price. I’m very confident of that.
In short, what price a seller needs or wants for their home for is irrelevant..I’m sorry to say but it’s true. Housing is a commodity. There are other homes on the market to compete with and this must be taken into consideration or the seller will lose money.
A home well priced will get butts through the door for showings in the first couple days of market time. This is what a seller will need to get the best and final price for their home.
Buying or selling a home in Rocklin? If so, I’d like to help you. Please call or text me directly at 916-532-7653 or click here, for my contact page.
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